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As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I am taking part in public hearings on Governor Wolf’s proposed 2018-2019 state budget. Summaries and video of each of this week’s hearings are listed below. You can review previous hearings here and here. Inclement weather caused postponement of the final two days of hearings. I’ll follow up with those summaries when the hearings are rescheduled.

In this Edition:

Gaming Control Board Revenue/PA Lottery Community and Economic Development Education Aging Monday March 5, 2018 Gaming Control Board

Representatives of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board fielded questions on how expanded gaming opportunities will impact the state and how they will be regulated.

By, Lowman S. Henry Chairman & CEO of the Lincoln Institute and host of the weekly Lincoln Radio Journal

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has triggered a constitutional crisis with the growing possibility that one or more of the justices may stand before the state senate in an impeachment trial. The specter is unparalleled in the recent history of the commonwealth and reflects the recent politicization of the high court.

At immediate issue is the court’s utter disregard for the Constitution of the United States, the Pennsylvania state constitution, willingness to interfere in the legislative process, and abandonment of centuries of precedent.

HARRISBURG – Citing bonuses awarded to political staffers who organized a political convention that was subsidized in part by state tax dollars, Senators Scott Wagner (R-York) and David G. Argall (R-Schuylkill/Berks) unveiled legislation they say will provide more accountability for state grants.

A report by Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale found the state awarded a $10 million grant to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to host its convention in Philadelphia in 2016. Staffers and interns were awarded with over $1 million in bonuses following the convention.

“The bottom line is this: Taxpayers should not be subsidizing bonuses to political operatives

General Fund revenue collections for the month of February exceeded expectations, largely as the result of proceeds received from the securitization of $1.5 billion of Tobacco Settlement Fund (TSF) revenues. Included as part of the FY 2017-18 budget’s Official Revenue Estimate, approximately $1.25 billion was anticipated to be received from the securitization. Actual revenues received from the transaction totaled $1.5 billion, which, along with Category 4 gaming license fee and Liquor Store profit payments, resulted in non-tax revenues surpassing the monthly revenue estimate by nearly $400 million. February’s revenue performance brings the year-to-date surplus to

Department of Education fails to make school property tax elimination a priority

HARRISBURG – During today’s Senate Appropriations Committee budget hearing with the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Secretary Rivera stated that school property tax elimination is not a main priority for the department according to Senator David G. Argall (R-Schuylkill/Berks).

Argall, who has spearheaded this bipartisan initiative over the past several legislative sessions in the Senate, noted his disappointment regarding both the department and the Wolf Administration’s unwillingness to make this a priority. “This is by far the #1 issue I hear about most from residents not only in Berks and Schuylkill Counties, but across Pennsylvania,” said Argall. “I can’t go to the grocery store or get a flat

HARRISBURG — House State Government Committee Chairman Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler) issued the following statement today after his right-to-know appeal was partially granted by the PA Office of Open Records. The Department of State now has 30 days to release all communication and records between former Secretary Pedro Cortes and his staff regarding voter registration and/or voting by non-citizen foreign nationals.

“Thanks to this ruling, Gov. Tom Wolf and his Department of State are finally

WASHINGTON – DECEMBER 03: U.S. President Barack Obama (R) greets Allentown, Pennsylvania Mayor Ed Pawlowski after the administration’s Jobs and Economic Growth Forum in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building December 3, 2009 in

HENRY RODGERS Political Reporter/ The Daily Caller

A Democratic Pennsylvania mayor faces decades in prison after he was convicted on nearly 50 charges of corruption in court Thursday.

Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski was found guilty on 47 of the 54 charges against him which included bribery, conspiracy, fraud, attempted extortion as well as lying to federal officials. Pawlowski also changed city contracts in order to raise money for his campaigns for Mayor, The Morning Call reported.